Game: Silent Hill: Origins
Genre: Survival Horror
Platform: PSP

So before getting into this review, there are two things you should know. First things first, I’m a little rusty on my Silent Hill mythology. I’ve only played the PlayStation original, not any of the sequels, and it’s been years since playing even that. Secondly, I don’t usually play survival horror games by myself. Why? Because I am a scaredy-cat. I’m very easily startled and tend to spaz out as soon as anything jumps out at me.

That being said, I did enjoy the first Silent Hill game and from what I know of the story, it’s pretty interesting. I’ve been thinking about going back and playing my old copy of the original, but instead decided to face my fears and give the PSP prequel to the saga a shot.

The first reaction I had to this game was that it had possibly the best graphics I’ve seen yet on the PSP. The cut scenes look amazing, and even the in-game visuals are above average for the system. The music is also perfect for creating the terrifying atmosphere. You take the role of Travis Grady, a truck driver who becomes trapped in Silent Hill after rescuing a young girl from a fire one night. Travis has been having nightmares that he can’t understand all of his life, which not surprisingly are related to some of the events that take place in the town.

There’s really no instructions or introduction, but the controls are visible through the menu screen and pretty much everything can be figured out fairly quickly. After passing out outside of the house fire, Travis wakes up in Silent Hill and heads to the hospital to find out what the girl’s fate was. It’s here that the game really starts, with elusive hospital employees avoiding you and faceless nurses attacking you.

The exploration had me in suspense from the start; remember my earlier statement about being a scaredy-cat? It’s still true. There were several points where I almost yelled out in surprise after having enemies sneak up on me, which probably would have resulted in strange looks from everyone else in the office. Combat is easy enough to get into; Travis is good with his fists, but can also pick up random objects to fight with as well. These items are disposable and will fall apart after a couple of hits, but there are so many of them lying around that there’s never really any fear of being without a weapon, especially after firearms come into play later in the game. In addition to fighting and exploration there are also some puzzle elements to the game, which are always welcome with me. The puzzles tend to be very bizarre and only add to the atmosphere of the game.

Like most games, this one is not without its problems. At first the camera system seems good, with the player controlling it with a simple push of the left shoulder button. However, once the player enters the real Silent Hill, the camera gets a little wonky and trying to center it again can just lead to Travis looking in entirely the wrong direction while getting attacked. Also, I noticed some clipping, with Travis, items, or enemies going through walls. This seemingly minor distraction takes you right out of the horror atmosphere. There are also a few sections in the game that seem to go on a little longer than they should. It’s never good in a game like Silent Hill when the player stops being scared and starts getting bored.

Problems aside, this is undoubtedly one of the better games available for the PSP. With the excellent visuals and music, good voice-acting, interesting story, and creepy environment like no other on the PSP, Silent Hill: Origins has delivered a great gaming experience. For any fan of survival horror or the Silent Hill series, Origins is a must-have. PSP owners, don’t worry; if this is any indication, there’s a lot of good to come for this system, and Silent Hill: Origins is a shining example of what the PSP is capable of.